Fishing rod holder

ABSTRACT

A fishing rod holder to be worn by a fisherman to permit him to hold a fishing rod in upright position with one hand and net a fish on the line with the other hand. The holder has a support member such as a plate to be secured against the wearer&#39;&#39;s midriff by a harness or the like which permits the fishing rod to swing fore and aft, and a rod mounting bracket removably and pivotally mounted on the plate to permit removal of the fishing rod from the holder and pivotal adjustment of the rod from side to side to locate the rod in front of either shoulder or in any angular position between the shoulders.

Uted States atent 1191 Johnston 1 1 3,749,294 1 51 July 31,1973

[ 1 FISHING ROD HOLDER [22] Filed: Aug. 27, 1971 [211 App], No.: 175,504

Primary Examiner-0erald M. Forlenzu Assistant Examiner--Jerold M.Forsberg Attorney- -Boniard 1. Brown [57] ABSTRACT A fishing rod holderto be worn by a fisherman to permit him to hold a fishing rod in uprightposition with one hand and net a fish on the line with the other hand.The holder has a support member such as a plate to be secured againstthe wearer's midriff by a harness or the like which permits the fishingrod to swing fore and aft, and a rod mounting bracket removably andpivotally mounted on the plate to permit removal of the fishing rod fromthe holder and pivotal adjustment of the rod from side to side to locatethe rod in front of either shoulder or in any angular position betweenthe shoulders.

4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENIEU Jun 1 1925 bn m J 6 6 I F M/meA/me' RALPH D. Jamvsmv ATTOEMEY FISHING ROD HOLDER BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally tofishing aids and more particularly to a novel fishing rod holder to beworn by a fisherman.

2. Discussion of the Prior Art A variety of fishing rod holders havebeen devised for holding or supporting a fishing rod in fishingposition. Some of these holders, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat.Nos. 1,719,695 and 2,981,509 are designed for attachment to boats,poles, or other similar supports. Other fishing rod holders, such asthat shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,576,624, are designed to be worn by afisherman so that he may hold the rod upright with one hand and net afish on the line with the other hand. The present invention relates toan improved fishing rod holder of this latter type.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The fishing rod holder of the invention has asupport member such as a plate with a harness or the like for securingthe plate to the wearers midriff. Pivotally mounted on the plate is arod support bracket having means for attachment to the handle end of afishing rod. The support plate harness permits swinging of the fishingrod fore and aft. The pivoted rod support bracket permits pivotaladjustment of the rod from side to side to locate the rod in front ofeither shoulder or in any angular position between the shoulders.

The rod supporting bracket of the disclosed fishing rod holder is agenerally L-shaped member. One arm of this bracket is secured to thefishing rod. The other bracket arm fits removably within a socket in abracket mounting arm pivoted on the support plate, such that the rod andbracket may be easily removed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 illustrates a present fishingrod holder being worn by a fisherman;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged section taken on line 22 in FIG. I;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged section taken on line 33 in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the holder.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The illustrated fishing rodholder has a support member 12 in the form of a generally flatrectangular plate. This plate is relatively stiff and may be constructedof metal or plastic. Attached to the four corners of the plate is aharness 14 for securing the plate to the body of a fisherman 16 with therear surface 18 of the plate in contact with his midriff region. Theparticular harness shown includes a halter 20 which extends about thewearers neck and a waist band 22 which encircles the wearer's waist.

At the front side of the support plate 12 is a rod supporting bracket24. This bracket is an L-shaped bracket member with legs 26 and 28.Bracket leg 26 has an upwardly and rearwardly turned front end 30 whichis adapted to seat against the handle end 32 of a fishing rod 34 in themanner shown best in FIG. 2. The rod is secured to the bracket by a baseclamp 36 which encircles the rod handle and the front turned end of thebracket.

Bracket 24 is pivotally attached to the support plate 12 by mountingmeans 38 for swinging of the bracket and hence the fishing rod 34 on anaxis 40 transverse to the rear support plate surface 18 and thelongitudinal axis of the rod. The rod is thus swingable from side toside of the wearers body. The bracket mounting means 38 comprises abracket mounting arm 42 pivotally attached at its lower end to thesupport plate 12 by a pivot 44. Extending into the upper end of the arm42 is a socket 46 for slidably receiving the bracket leg 28. Socket 46is formed by a groove or recess in the rear side of the arm and isdimensioned to permit removal of the bracket 24 and fishing rod 34 whendesired.

Formed in the support plate 12 is a curved slot 48 centered on themounting arm pivot axis 40. A pair of screws 50 extend through this slotand are threaded in the bracket mounting arm 42 to limit swinging of thebracket and arm. These screws may be tightened to secure the bracket androd in any angular position. The harness 14 permits fore and aftswinging of the fishing rod.

When the fishing rod holder is worn in the manner shown in FIG. I, thewearer may swing the fishing rod fore and aft to facilitate fishing.Once a fish is hooked and pulled in, the wearer may hold the rod uprightwith one hand and net the fish with the other hand. The rod mountingbracket and fishing rod may be secured in any angular position mostconvenient to the user, such as one in which the rod is located in frontof one shoulder or the other, or the bracket and rod may be left free toswing from side to side. When desired, the fishing rod may be easilyremoved by removing the bracket from its pivoted mounting arm.

What is claimed as new in support of Letters Patent l. A fishing rodholder to be worn by a fisherman comprising:

a support plate having front and rear sides,

means for securing said plate to the front side of the wearers bodyadjacent their midriff region with the rear side of the plate facing thewearer's body,

a rodholding bracket for attachment to the handle end of a fishing rod,

a bracket mounting arm at the front side of said plate having normallyupper and lower ends and a rear side facing said plate,

a pivot connecting the lower end of said arm to said plate for swingingof the arm in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of said plate,

said arm having a longitudinal recess entering said rear arm side andopening through the upper arm end,

said recess being closed at its rear side by said plate to define asocket,

said rod holding bracket having a first end slidable in and removablefrom said socket, a mid-portion extending forwardly from said bracketend, and a second end forwardly of said plate and arm for connection toa fishing rod,

said plate having an arcuate slot adjacent the upper end of said arm andcurving circularly about said pivot axis of said arm, and

limit stop means extending through said slot and secured to said arm inlaterally offset relation to said 3 4 recess for cooperating with saidslot to limit swingright angle bends at the juncturcs of said ends anding of Said mid-portion of the bracket.

2. A fishing rod holder according to claim 1 wherein: said limit stopmeans comprise a pair of pins secured to said arm at opposite sides ofsaid recess. 5 3. A fishing rod holder according to claim 1 wherein: toSaid arm at opposite Sides of Said reccsssaid rod holding bracketcomprises a flat strap having 4. A fishing rod holder according to claim3 wherein: said limit stop means comprise a pair of pins secured

1. A fishing rod holder to be worn by a fisherman comprising: a supportplate having front and rear sides, means for securing said plate to thefront side of the wearer''s body adjacent their midriff region with therear side of the plate facing the wearer''s body, a rodholding bracketfor attachment to the handle end of a fishing rod, a bracket mountingarm at the front side of said plate having normally upper and lower endsand a rear side facing said plate, a pivot connecting the lower end ofsaid arm to said plate for swinging of the arm in a plane substantiallyparallel to the plane of said plate, said arm having a longitudinalrecess entering said rear arm side and opening through the upper armend, said recess being closed at its rear side by said plate to define asocket, said rod holding bracket having a first end slidable in andremovable from said socket, a mid-portion extending forwardly from saidbracket end, and a second end forwardly of said plate and arm forconnection to a fishing rod, said plate having an arcuate slot adjacentthe upper end of said arm and curving circularly about said pivot axisof said arm, and limit stop means extending through said slot andsecured to said arm in laterally offset relation to said recess forcooperating with said slot to limit swinging of said arm.
 2. A fishingrod holder according to claim 1 wherein: said limit stop means comprisea pair of pins secured to said arm at opposite sides of said recess. 3.A fishing rod holder according to claim 1 wherein: said rod holdingbracket comprises a flat strap having right angle bends at the juncturesof said ends and mid-portion of the bracket.
 4. A fishing rod holderaccording to claim 3 wherein: said limit stop means comprise a pair ofpins secured to said arm at opposite sides of said recess.